Luke Garbutt, Scott Fraser, Danny Graham and transfer plans: Phil Smith's Sunderland AFC transfer Q&A

But where do things stand with some of the club’s top targets, and when can we expect to see more movement in the market?

Phil Smith is here to provide the inside track on talks and answer your burning questions on the transfer situation at the Stadium of Light:

Why has transfer business seemed to slow down since Bailey Wright came in?

I think there has definitely been a desire to work out exactly what this salary cap means moving forward, how it will affect the pursuit of targets and what potential ways around it there might be.

As I’ll mention a little later on, there’s also a big question around how the PFA legal challenge will affect it and whether it’s actually enforceable while arbitration is going on.

If it’s not, that completely changes the picture again.

So there’s been a bit of taking stock but with the season a month away tomorrow, there’s obviously not much longer that this can go on for.

I’m going to take a long look at the salary cap on the website later today, but there are some positions where the deals being looked at shouldn’t really be affected too much by the cap finances.

You’d think we’ll begin to see things heat up again towards the end of this week, with Sunderland still keen to get around five players in.

Is the interest in Fraser strong, or are Sunderland looking at others before him? No doubt he would be a big part of pushing to promotion.

There’s definitely been a strong interest.

He has an excellent record in terms of producing goals and assists at this level, which would offer the manager a different option to what he currently has in central midfield.

The question is what his options will be in the aftermath of the salary cap introduction and whether Sunderland can realistically compete.

There’s been Championship interest in him and at 25, it’s a big move for him at a time when his stock has never been higher.

I suspect he’s one of many who will be assessing (and perhaps reassessing) his options.

From Sunderland’s perspective, for the reasons I’ll outline in the answer below, I suspect they will currently be making a few different plans to be right across whatever happens in the next few weeks.

We've heard a statement from the PFA stating that the salary cap is unlawful and unenforceable. Many fans are keen to see good business done early, so is it better to secure the top targets with higher wages ASAP then invest heavily in U21s? Add more quality later if it's allowed?

It’s a great question and I think pretty much the key one right now.

In terms of gambling now, it’s a big risk and one that I don’t think any club (not just Sunderland) will be taking.

The PFA have begun arbitration and have said that the cap should not be enforced in the meantime, but the EFL are yet to give any indication that this is the case.

So sign players who could push you above the cap now, when the EFL seem to be sticking to enforcing it, could lead to some pretty significant punishment down the line. Once you go above 5% of the cap, the case goes to a disciplinary commission and who can say what that could then mean in terms of a punishment.

It’s a situation that needs clarity and I suspect that’s what all clubs are trying to get now.

Arbitration tends not to be a particularly swift process.

On the latter point, I think that’s absolutely spot on.

Having a Category One Academy should be an enormous advantage under the new rules, with players under the age of 21 not counting towards either the wage or squad size cap.

Clubs who have plenty of those will be in a strong position, having more funds to get quality and experience in other positions.

The decline of Sunderland’s U18 and U23 groups means they aren’t really in that position, which is a damning indictment of a lot of decisions have been made in the last couple of years.

Moving forward, I think it’s a terrific idea to look at investing revenue saved as a result of the cap into the U18 and U23 team.

Sunderland’s Academy has its challenges but it should (and is) still a very attractive proposition to a talented player from a Category Two or Three Academy.

So why not go and get them now?

It would at least be one potential long-term positive from a move that otherwise doesn’t really suit Sunderland.

In terms of that investment from revenue saved, I’d be looking at recruitment and data departments as part of that as well.

When are we likely to find out Sunderland’s fixture list?

The indications are it will be towards the end of next week.

The Premier League are set to announce their fixtures on August 21st and pretty much right the way through these last six months, the EFL have been in step with them.

So I’d expect it to be around then.

One of the things to look out for is the Carabao Cup, with some suggestions that this could actually get underway just a week after that 21st date.

That’s because the weekend of August 5th is an international break, so any Championship clubs could have to play their first round fixture a week before then.

We’ll see how it all pans out but we should know an awful lot more by the end of next week.

How is Sunderland’s pre-season shaping up and what’s happening with games?

The squad have been back in full contract training for a little while now and the staff certainly seem pleased with their progress physically.

It should step up with the start of some sort of games programme in the next week.

Part of the issue there is that there’s understandably a reluctance to face sides who are not currently in a testing programme.

I’d expect at some stage Sunderland will want to play at the Stadium of Light, to try and get a sense of how things will be in the ‘new normal’ that we’ll see at the start of the season.

Pretty much all Championship clubs did that before their restart earlier in the summer.

Is Danny Graham a realistic option?

He is a player who is being considered, though at this stage there are a number of players in that category.

Parkinson has brought in Aiden O’Brien, who likes to play through the middle, but he still wants another striker.

It’s not an easy position to fill as Grigg and Wyke are good earners at this level.

Graham is a similar profile to Wyke and so you can see why he has been flagged up as a potential addition.

Again, it’s about working out who fits the bill both in terms of the football and now, the finances.

It remains to be seen whether Graham is one who does.

What’s the latest on the move for Luke Garbutt?

I would put Garbutt in a very similar boat to Scott Fraser, really.

He’s a player who has interest from the Championship and if the salary cap is enforced, Sunderland (and the other League One clubs who want to sign him) are not going to be able to offer the most financially attractive move for him.

So it then becomes a decision for the player, what he needs for the next stage of his career, balancing the financial and footballing factors.

It’s a little too early to tell how that one is going to work out.

It would be an interesting one if it happened. Garbutt is a good player, has a good set piece and very much fits the Parkinson style and system.

But what would that mean for Denver Hume and his development?

His defensive game still needs work but his rise as a really exciting attacking player was one of the few genuinely uplifting features of last season.

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